“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Philip. 4:4 RSV). Today, we rejoice. We rejoice, not just because we are called to rejoice. We rejoice because the Spirit of the Lord is with us. No matter the pains and sorrows we experience in life, we know that God is for us, and nothing can and will separate us from God’s love, even our own sins. This is why the Christian life should be one of much celebration... Read more
While with what realism tells us, contra nominalism, there can be and is a real relationship between the words we use and the objects (or essences) invoked by those words, nonetheless, that relationship is something which has been built up or constructed, contra some who hold to a realist philosophical position. There can be and are many names (or words) used to connect us to the various essences or objects which we discuss. While nominalism, therefore, is right, in talking... Read more
There are many things we should never should allow ourselves to become desensitized towards, including, but not limited to, torture, racism, child abuse, and extreme poverty. We should add to them mass shootings. Sadly, it seems that many of us have become so used them in the United States, we do not pay attention them all. For us to notice them, there has to be something special about them such as the place in which they took place, or if... Read more
St. Therese of Lisieux, as many of her letters show, questioned the way things worked in life. There is way too much suffering in life. People, even when they knew what they should be doing, found things were put in their way, preventing them from doing what they should, causing great amounts of stress and anxiety as a result. This was especially true for her during the time she was trying to be accepted as a nun. And yet, despite... Read more
The Great Fast reminds us of ways we can and should get to know ourselves better. That means, of course, it is about metanoia, about repentance, even as it is also about forgiveness. We need to accept forgiveness for ourselves. While recognizing our own faults, we should not be too harsh or critical of ourselves, for such harshness leads to despair. We must come to terms with who we are. We must recognize the good as well as the bad,... Read more
We must never forget mercy. Without mercy, life would be unbearable. We all make so many mistakes, so many slip-ups, each and every day. Without mercy, even our most minor mistake would cause us great grief, but with mercy, we know that even our worst, most terrible mistakes, can be forgiven. There is no need for despair. Mercy is there for us. But to have it, we must embrace it. We must embrace mercy, not only by accepting it for... Read more
President Biden, though he has done many good things, and is trying to deal with a considerable number of problems handed to him by the previous administration, is still human, which means, he is capable of making faulty decisions. He can, like anyone, do things which will disappoint us, not of course, in such a way as to detour us from appreciating what he has done, but enough to remind us that no one person can and will do everything... Read more
One of the greatest spiritual problems is prelest that is, spiritual delusion, which can manifest itself in a general way, but also in many specific ways. Nonetheless, what fuels it the most is pride. It is pride which allows us to think so greatly of ourselves we believe our own delusions. It is pride which leads us to not question ourselves. Nonetheless, prelest is a common problem with all of us; indeed, at one level, prelest is a general condition... Read more
As we are in the middle of the Great Fast, hopefully we are learning more and more about ourselves, coming to know truly who we are. This is what the Great Fast should help us do. We should be more aware of ourselves and our temptations, and through such awareness, fight against our inclination to sin. For, if we do not, sin will try to gain control over us, making sure we not only find ourselves straying in our relationship... Read more
True Christian spirituality follows the way of the incarnation. The eschaton has become immanent with creation. The self-emptying which the Logos engaged was done in order that as a man, he could take on the cross and death, leading him to overcome death through his resurrection. And this is exactly the path which he has left behind, the noble path which we should take. We should divest ourselves from all attempts to make glory for ourselves, and that means, all... Read more
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